140-year-old Union Club changes image with new gadgets

Workers at the Union Club use iPads to take orders at the new outside dining area.

HEATHER CAMPBELL

The Union Club has made a concerted effort to change its image by infusing high-end technology into the private club at 1211 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland.

Though often viewed as a vestige of Cleveland's Old Guard, the Union Club is making a concerted effort to freshen its image by infusing a healthy dose of high-end technology into the 140-year-old private club, all in hopes of remaining relevant to the modern business professional.
The 85,000-square-foot private club, which serves as a hub for the city's movers and shakers, hasn't shed its terra-cotta cornices or warm woodworking for the metallic sheen of an Apple store.
However, deep inside the 36-inch walls of the hulking sandstone structure at 1211 Euclid Ave. reside a cornucopia of high-tech goodies that Claudio Caviglia, the club's general manager, suggests could help shed the perception it hasn't changed the way it does business in more than a century.
“The way people do business today, it's much faster,” Mr. Caviglia said. “They have to communicate quickly and have to have access to so much more. You have to have the technology that provides that for them.”
Over the last two and a half years, the Union Club has pumped roughly $200,000 into its IT infrastructure with further investments on the way. Upgrades include high-speed wireless Internet connection, video conferencing capabilities, an overhauled website with a new member portal, widescreen video projectors and gizmos that allow members to print directly from their iPads or iPhones.
The club even has offered virtual wine tastings, during which private groups video conference with wine experts in, for instance, California's Napa Valley from the comfort of a private room at the Union Club.
Plus, within the last few weeks, the Union Club began offering outside dining — not a technological innovation in of itself, though its servers are armed with iPads that allow orders to be made immediately available for processing in the kitchen.
And keeping in line with the needs of the modern business professional — think software companies with employees who do business in denim, not couture — the club dress on the patio isn't nearly as strict as that of the main dining room.
“Any preconceived ideas of the Union Club, they've been squashed,” said Sally Weinberg, the club's marketing, membership and program director.

On the up and up

Mr. Caviglia said private clubs nationwide have had a difficult time in recent years maintaining membership and infusing new blood into their organizations, a trend that gained momentum when the recession hit. Still, Mr. Caviglia said the Union Club's finances and membership roll are healthy.
At current, the club boasts 972 members — a healthy number, according to Ms. Weinberg. As part of its 140-year anniversary, the club launched an aggressive campaign last summer to bring in 140 new members, a goal the club expects to meet and exceed by July. Traditionally, the club enrolls about 45 members over a 12-month period.
“We are standing stronger than ever,” Ms. Weinberg said.
In addition, the club concluded in March one of its strongest fiscal years in its history. While Mr. Caviglia wouldn't disclose revenue figures, he said the club's finances were buoyed by strong membership gains and increased facility rentals. Both increases, he said, were in part fueled by the club's investments in technology.
The Union Club doesn't have a full-time tech guru on staff, though its membership base has its share of tech giants from the region's business community — a brain trust the club taps regularly for inspiration and advice. For instance, Joe LaMantia, managing partner of the supply chain software firm e-Ventus Corp. of Cleveland, chairs the club's technology committee and was instrumental in bringing many of technological innovations to the club.
“Technology isn't an afterthought and isn't a luxury for our younger members,” Mr. LaMantia said. “It's an expectation.”
Officials at the Union Club, however, insist the club hasn't abandoned its traditions or alienated older members with the glitz and glam of iPads. The club even has offered educational events to expose older members to smart phone and tablet technology. It's all in the spirit of remaining relevant.
”We're right in the heart of Cleveland, and we're grateful for where we were and where we've come to as a club,” Mr. Caviglia said. “Some places have shut down, but we're still here and strong. We survived the Great Depression, the Great Recession and we're all grateful for that.”